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ABSTRACT
Background: The preference for son and discrimination against the girl child is almost universal in India and manifest it in many ways. Changes in sex ratio reflect underlying socioeconomic, cultural patterns of a society. Skewed sex ratio is an issue of major concern. Desire for male child manifests so blatantly that parents have no qualms about repeated, closely spaced pregnancies, premature deaths and even terminating child before it is born.
Method: Total 200 antenatal women were interviewed by systematic random sampling with prior consent using a well designed, pretested questionnaire. The data was analyzed by percentages and chi-square test
Results: Overall in this study it was observed male preference was in 63% antenatal women. Out of total women with first child as a baby girl 78.6 % keenly wanted second baby as a boy. Almost more than half of the women (59%) were aware about consequences of female foeticide and 69% were aware of the PNDT act.
Keywords: Gender, Preference, Awareness, Foeticide, PNDT Act
INTRODUCTION
The preference for son and discrimination against the girl child is almost universal in India and manifest it in many ways. Indian couples have a strong preference for sons over daughters. In an effort to have sons, many couples continue to have children after achieving their desired family size.
Some 10 million female foetuses are estimated to have been aborted over the last two decades in India. In response to this disconcerting trend, and after much public discussion, the Indian government enacted legislation in 1994 entitled the "Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques (PNDT) Act" to regulate and prevent the misuse of technologies for sex determination. The PNDT Act was implemented in 1996. Its scope was further expanded in 2003 with the prohibition of a whole range of activities that might facilitate deliberate sex selection.1,2
According to 2011 census the sex ratio in India is 940 females per 1000 males.3,4 Sex ratio is an important social indicator to measure the extent of prevailing equity between males and females in the society. It is also a sensitive indicator of development. Changes in sex ratio reflect underlying socioeconomic, cultural patterns of a society. Skewed sex ratio is an issue of major concern. At the heart of the problem is the low status...